Thursday, February 4, 2010

The History of Post Cards!

Postcards are a late 19th Century invention.

Originally they were intended as a less expensive alternative to letters, with little emphasis placed on a printed image.

Messages were written on the front while the reverse side was reserved for the address and postage only.

As postal regulations changed at the turn of the 20th Century, the postcards
quickly took the form as we know it today printed image on front and message, address and postage on back.

The United States Government first issued Postal Cards in the late 1870's.

These were pre-printed one-cent cards.

Privately printed advertising and souvenir cards cost two-cents to mail.

In 1898, the Private Mailing Card Act allowed private cards to be mailed at one-cent, but did not allow private printers to use the term "postcard" until
1901.

In 1902, Eastman Kodak introduced papers that allow photographers to print directly onto postcard stock.

The following year, Eastman Kodak introduced a camera just for taking postcard
pictures.

This innovation allowed private individual to print their own photographic postcards.

In 1907, the United States authorized the use of divided back cards.

This allowed the sender to use the back side for both address and message, reserving
the front for printed images alone.

This is the beginning of the modern day postcard as we know it...

..and that is why there is such a large variety of original and antique post cards on the market.

22 comments:

Grey Horse Matters said...

I love these old postcards. I'm a big fan of any vintage pictures. Thanks for the post it was very interesting and fun to look over.

Jim F Loos said...

Such a nice post, it reminds me of when family members would travel the world and send cards back to the ranch. Now the inbox does the job, but not the same feel.

A Rancher's View

sidesaddlegirl said...

Do you collect side saddle postcards? I've got a neat one in my collection of a pony wearing a pilch side saddle that I can scan and email to you if you'd like to see it. :-)

Julie said...

sidesaddle girl..While I find them facinating ..I do not 'collect' them. Not that I would not like to see yours though..

Julie said...

Oh My.. I seem to have a gentleman follower.. Hi Jim Fisher!

ACountryCowgirl said...

That is very interesting and you did a great job finding all the old postcards. Thanks for showing me your blog, I am a follower now and look forward to seeing your sidesaddle adventures:)

sidesaddlegirl said...

I'll get my one scanned this weekend and email it to you. The saddle the pony is wearing is similar to the pilch side saddle you posted about on here a while ago.

Dena said...

Thank you for leaving your direction.
I enjoyed the read and will be back for more.

jme said...

wow, these are great! and i love the history. i would actually frame them and have them all over my house :-)

Unknown said...

Those are really pretty. Theres a post today on BTB about sidesaddle dressage with a cool video http://www.behindthebitblog.com/2010/02/sidesaddle-dressage.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BehindTheBit+(Behind+the+Bit)

Sherry Sikstrom said...

Great info! I love old postcards , my mom had some from Spain that actually had the ladies dresses embroidered into the picture

Jeni said...

Hi stumbled up on your site through All Horse Matters... I love the post cards and the pictures of the horses!

allhorsestuff said...

Hullo there Julie!
What a great post on Post cards!
Loved all the PC pictures...especially the one of the sidesaddle rider waving to(while Jumping) the man rider who just lost his seat to the ground!

My sissy told me about a Post card printer for my photo's..gotta have one of those I think!It prints the post cad marks on the back side as it prints the photo.

Neat stuff! Thanks~
KK

GoLightly said...

Beautiful. What I like to call hard copy.
Thanks for posting them!

Andrea said...

I love old postcards, i just got a few old photos of horses and I love them!

Unknown said...

Gorgeous postcards! You have totally inspired me to try riding aside. Now for the critter to get sound and me to find a saddle :-)

Angelina said...

I just found your blog yesterday and I am so excited to see so much sidesaddle information. My mom rode in a sidesaddle drill team for years and she wants me to join with her so I found you looking for sidesaddles for sale and I added you to my daily reading. I love reading your blog.

Jocelyn said...

You are a wmaon after my own heart! Rides side saddle and loves Post Cards as much as I do ! I have bnever ridden sidesaddle, but I long too and I don't know a soul who does it!
Thank you so much for coming by and visting !

I LOVE NEW FRIENDS!

Oregon Equestrian said...

Thanks for sharing. Once again I learned something, Plus I greatly enjoyed all your vintage postcards.

Beth said...

Very cool postcards. I love old fox hunting scenes.

I really like the freaked out horses on floppy reins and the calm cool look on the ladies faces. I wish I could look that relaxed.

Fantastyk Voyager said...

Those are some beautiful postcards! Thanks for sharing!

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Oh wow! Are all these postcards part of your personal collection? They must be very special to you considering your interest in riding sidesaddle. They are all so unique and beautiful. The mule card made me laugh. So risque back in the day, eh? heheh!

Thanks for this interesting post.

~Lisa